


Small

by skund



Category: Iron Man (Movieverse)
Genre: Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-03
Updated: 2010-09-03
Packaged: 2017-10-11 10:53:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/111634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skund/pseuds/skund
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony has never been a small man before, kept in darkness and fear. Written for [livejournal.com profile] arch_schatten  and her random song Interpol's A Time to Be So Small.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Small

Hot.

Heat.

Up his arms and in his veins and circling around the cold lump of mental that hung in his chest. The rhythm of his strikes kept a beat that his heart now struggled to match. The red glow of the metal before him lit up his face, warmed his skin. Left its mark on the burns trailing up his bare arms. They’d scar, with time.

If time was something Tony still had.

Everything seemed so close now, even the end. He felt so small. Filthy and exhausted and kept by a madman in the middle of the desert. At least, that’s where Tony thought he was; there was a whole period of his life lost to pain and blood and dazzling light. But the air was dry even down here in the dark, and the men who barked harsh tones through the door dripped dust and sweat.

So did Tony. Sweat poured down him in the forge-light, flicked off with every swing of his arm. Each fall of the hammer echoed off the close walls of the cave, harsh and biting like a father’s disappointment. What would his father say if he could see him now? So broken and dirty and… _contained_. Tony Stark, dancing to someone else’s tune, for fear of his life. But not for long.

The metal moved under his ministrations, taking shape. Eye holes. Long and narrow for maximum protection and peripheral vision. Mouth slit, because the mask was too close to maintain optimal oxygen flow. And iron. Heavy and solid, but it was all he had.

Tony picked up the golden mask with the tongs and quenched it in the bucket of water. His eyes met Yinsen’s across the room, steam swirling around him and fire Tony’s eyes. Yes, they were captive and kept. Made small. But not for long.


End file.
